


In Which Lord and Lady Mael Learn Some Things, and Someone Falls in Love

by tanarill



Series: True Fire [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Action Movies, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, Anticipation, Arranged Marriage, Attraction, Awkward Conversations, Backstory, Begging, Belonging, Blow Jobs, Boredom, Boundaries, Breakfast, Character of Faith, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Cuddles, Cunnilingus, Dinner, Dirty Talk, Distractions, Exhibitionism, F/M, Family Dinners, Fashion & Couture, Fictional Religion & Theology, French Kissing, Gags, Kissing, Love, Lube, Lunch, M/M, Magic, Manipulation, Massage, Meditation, Multi, Multiple Orgasms, Napping, Negotiations, Politics, Priests, Prostate Massage, Reading, Rough Kissing, STEM, Self-Discovery, Sex Toys, Sex Toys Under Clothing, Showers, Slavery, Sleep, So there's no consent to be had, Spiritual, Truth, Voyeurism, Water, Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 11:38:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16953306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanarill/pseuds/tanarill
Summary: I am now a Ph.D. Have some porn.





	In Which Lord and Lady Mael Learn Some Things, and Someone Falls in Love

**Author's Note:**

> I am now a Ph.D. Have some porn.

She woke up in the grey pre-dawn light, exactly on time. Beside her, her husband remained in the sort of slow magma state she associated with him getting restful sleep; previously, it had been a rarity. On his other side, Akun cuddled him from behind, pressed as physically close as he could. Of course it was _just like him_ to need cuddling to sleep well and never have figured out that was the problem. Additional proof, as though any more were needed, that Akun was the right person to turn their friendly lopsided marriage into a loving perfectly balanced one. Even if it was three people and not two.

She slipped out of bed and performed morning ablutions in a quiet contemplative haze. She hadn't ever previously liked pain, and it wasn't exactly pleasant to find that out about herself at this late date. It was like a loose tooth in her mind, something she couldn't stop prodding. The thought of hurting Akun still didn't have particular draw. The way he'd gasped, the way he'd shuddered, the way he'd _begged_ for her to ride his face -

Well. It wasn't exactly unpleasant either.

She thought about it while pulling on her pleated red trousers and crisp white robe, and then set it aside. It wasn't like they wouldn't have time later, and it would not do to greet the local sunrise with anything less than her full attention.

On that morning, it was only her. This wasn't unusual. Theirs was a small household, only a dozen people or so, and they'd made it clear that they preferred true devotion to slavish fear of a Master of Fire. She calmly went about the daily task of refilling the oil reservoir and wiping the table free of any dust, and checked the ash bin. Then she sat down and began reciting the dawn-greeting sutra just as the sun began to crest.

She timed it correctly. The time it took for the sun to rise varied seasonally, and on many days when she wasn't in tune with her inner Fire, she got it wrong. On others, she was able to begin in the correct rhythm and finish right as the final curve of the sun climbed past the horizon. Those were better days, usually. She decided to take it as a good omen.

Both her husband and her - consort, she thought bemusedly, although even if everything went perfectly they wouldn't get to the formal ceremony for years and years - were quiescent when she got back to their suite. She carefully removed and folded her robe and trousers, then turned to decide which clothing to wear today. One of the simpler things. She had a feeling she'd need to get out of it again fairly quickly, and it didn't need to be so fancy since they weren't going out anywhere. Then she got into her comfortable fluffy houserobe, and went to go see what her spouses were doing.

Akun was taking a shower. Lord Mael was sitting on the bed, more than halfway into Fire. He didn't even respond when she opened the door. He did respond when she sat down next to him, blinking several times rapidly before saying, "Oh."

"Come, help me get this on," she said. It was best, she'd found, to give him something to do to anchor him in the here-and-now. "And we can talk about what we're going to do today."

"We're not going to work?"

"With Akun."

He made a noise that was more than halfway need and almost entirely growl. She didn't much understand the feeling. She'd arranged her life so that she had everything she needed and most things she wanted. Akun was both, for both of them, and the faster she got that into his head the sooner she could begin ripping away at the tangled mass of left-over emotions from Denn.

She added, "Not pain. I don't think any of us are ready for that, today."

There was pause, during which he stepped the rest of the way out of Fire, and then he said, "How do you feel about anticipation?"

"I don't see how that's in question," she replied.

He smiled, eyes flickering, which was for him a laugh. "It isn't. It's just - there's the kind of anticipation I'd have for a sudden and unexpected visit from the Imperial Auger, and there is this kind of anticipation."

"Again: I don't see how it's in question."

"For us, no. For Akun?"

She blinked at him slowly, a polite request.

"I want to see if he's sensitive enough to come without any direct stimulation."

It wasn't a lie. It just also wasn't the truth, which meant he wasn't aware it was a lie. She said, "Nipples?"

"Ah, no. I was thinking. Do you know what a prostate massager is?"

"It seems fairly self-explanatory," she said.

"There are wearable ones, toys."

She closed her eyes and thought about the possibilities. Then she said, "That won't be - too intense? It's only his second day."

"It isn't going to get less intense." True. "Besides which, we don't necessarily have to be there. Like you said: if he can come, then he can come."

"And either way, anticipation. For all of us," she said. He nodded. "When are you going to finish today?"

"I _was_ planning to do some work with the Mongooses," he said.

"Do that," she said. "Take the early afternoon for time in your workshop." Setting up for branding Akun. "You can get the administrata done after, and before we eat."

"If you say so," he said.

She smiled, but before she could make any reply, Akun emerged from the sanitary, skin pink and clean. He was still wearing the strip of orange stretchcloth on his left wrist. She said, "Here," and threw him her bundled-up houserobe. He shook it out and put it on.

"Thank you," he said.

"Come," said Lord Mael, in his abrupt way. Akun looked startled. She winked and stood up, taking a moment to make sure her dress was draping properly before following him out.

They didn't have far to go, anyway; his playrooms were only down the hall, across from hers.

"Um," said Akun.

"Oh, go ahead. I'm just going to learn a little about proper care of one's toys before we pick one out for you."

Akun nodded gratefully, and went.

"Are you really?" asked Lord Mael.

"I think I'd better," she said, and, "Go bring some choices?"

"Yes," he said, and went, and after a few minutes came back.

She looked at the two piles and said, "Why the underwear?" It wasn't lacy, or patterned at all, and anyway he didn't go in for feminine men any more than he did for women.

"To keep him, ah, _confined_."

"Oh," she said over the flush of heat. "Not the red. I don't know why you even brought it, he doesn't have the coloration. Maybe the blue."

"That or the black," agreed Lord Mael. "Let's decide on the toy."

She outright rejected any of the toys with cock rings; she wanted Akun to be able to come without that impedance. Her husband didn't understand, but after a short discussion set them aside. The ones that were left were an assortment of glass and silicone and other plastic. She decided no on the glass, because those swoopy designs looked interesting and glass was too brittle to take them.

"Well, if you say so," said Lord Mael uncertainly.

"Do you," she asked, suddenly, "ever use these?"

"Not - when I was learning what I liked, I did. But it's been years. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering if you had any experience yourself," she said.

His eyes went still and glittering. "Ah. No."

She tilted her head, considering. "I think I'd like to change that. Not necessarily often, but . . . sometimes."

He blinked several times rapidly in quick succession. Then he said, "I don't really enjoy it."

"Not with men who hate you," she agreed. "But with your wife who loves you, and," she nodded to the baffle. "It is quite a different thing. You did not think you enjoyed putting on a show, either."

His ears pinked, just a little.

They continued, setting aside toys one by one. It took a bit more time because he was explaining pros and cons as they went. At one point, once they'd narrowed it down to a handful and were trying to decide, Akun reemerged. He said, "I. Lube?"

"Big pump bottle of it in the other room," said Lord Mael without looking up. "Use two fingers only."

"The medical kink room," she clarified.

Akun nodded, and went away. She turned back to the five toys. Then she closed her eyes, put out a hand, and said, "This one."

"Random chance?" asked her husband.

"Since we weren't able to decide logically which one to use first," she said, and opened her eyes to see what she'd taken. It was shiny black plastic, in a sort of smooth abstract design. It looked almost more like a sculpture than a sex toy.

"Then the black pants to go with it."

"It's not like anyone else is going to be able to see your color-coordination," she said.

"I'll know," he said. She laughed softly and capitulated; it wasn't like it made a difference, really, and it made him happy.

Akun went quietly enough, when they got to him. Lord Mael said, "Very nice," which was probably a comment on either Akun's ass or legs.

She asked, "So I just - press it in?"

"Lube first," Lord Mael reminded her.

She pumped the bottle a couple of times and lubed it up; then she pressed it in, a little fascinated by how easily it slid forward. "Stand up," she said. "Walk around. See how it feels."

Once he'd walked around the baffle, Lord Mael said, "I'm having thoughts."

"Good ones?"

"On what we can do with him later."

"Very good ones," she replied, just before Akun reappeared. He was flushed red and already more than halfway hard, which was . . . interesting. She handed him the pants. "Put these on, and take a seat."

Akun did. The pants were very tight, and left nothing to the imagination. The slave sat, tense, trying almost not to breathe.

"Any pain?" asked Lord Mael.

Akun shook his head.

"Then go ahead and move," said Lord Mael. "Rules for today: you do not touch your cock at all. You do not rub off against anything or anyone. No one touches this - " he reached over, and rubbed a thumb against the head of his cock, where it peeked out almost coquettishly above the elastic, " - but one of us. You may come as many times as you want."

"As you can," corrected Lady Mael.

"Fire," said Akun, hoarsely, already moving his hips, and bit his lip.

She could see him thinking, although at this stage it was probably wondering about how much he was allowed to push. "Say it," she commanded.

"I'm. Later, when you have time, and I'm . . . ready. I'll ask for - you tell me all the things you're going to do. Like in the ship," he added.

So he'd liked it, even if he wasn't able to come until the end. Still, she was curious. "Why?"

"Because - "

"He thinks he can come from that," said Lord Mael. "We'll see if he's right."

Akun moaned a little, a needy sound that went straight up her spine and pressed the button marked 'sex.'

Lord Mael abruptly stood up. "I," he said, "am never going to get anything done today if I don't leave now." He learnt over a bit to kiss her on the forehead, and then turned to leave.

As the door shut, Akun said, "Um."

"No apologies. He'll have sex for days if he can plan ahead of time; he didn't expect yesterday's trip to be successful, is all. Give it a few days. He'll rework his schedule."

"Okay," said Akun. And, "You didn't - tell him?"

She sighed. So much for hoping he hadn't picked up on it. "I suppose this is a conversation we need to have sooner rather than later, but . . . it can wait a little longer. You're hungry."

Akun hadn't realized this, by the way he went unfocused and then came back. "Yes."

"Well," she said, "put on a house robe."

She led the way down one long corridor and two flights of stairs and one short corridor, and then arrived in the everyday dining room, which adjoined the kitchen. Lette and Bailí both looked over at them questioningly; she knew the speed of their house rumor mill, so there was no chance they didn't already know who Akun was. It was like Hasko personally delivering dinner last night.

"Good morning, Lady Mael," said Bailí. "What would you like?"

"To introduce you to our new sex slave," she said. "And also a strawberry crépe. Akun, Lette. Lette, Akun."

"Hello," he offered.

Lette smiled. "What would you like to eat?"

He blinked. "I don't know?" And then, clearly aware that he shouldn't answer questions with other questions, added, "I mean. I've never. Had a choice."

"Then something simple, for the beginner," said Lette. "An egg on toast."

"Okay?" said Akun.

She turned to Bailí, who was making her crépe, and said, "It's not like he has two heads."

Bailí laughed. "All men have two heads. I just wonder what is so remarkable about this one."

"Why should there be anything remarkable?" she asked. Akun was, on paper at least, just a sex slave.

"Because _you_ don't take ordinary men to bed," answered Bailí easily.

"Do not be offended," said Lette.

"I'm not," she said, because she wasn't. A little worried, maybe, but not offended.

"Good," said Lette. "This one, I like. You always choose such nice men. Not like your husband."

It was a question, if she wanted to answer it. She didn't, and said, "How can you like him? You have barely met him!"

"He is polite," said Lette, and set a plate of egg-on-toast in front of him.

Akun blinked, clearly having not been paying attention, and then said, "Thank you."

Lette smiled at her, but didn't need to say, 'See?'

"Do you like it?" asked Bailí, after Akun had taken his first careful bite.

"I - yes," answered Akun, eating slowly and chewing thoroughly. He'd last eaten probably more than twelve hours ago, and should be very hungry. Lette was right, though: he was polite. She turned her attention to her crépe, which was as excellent as usual.

By the time she'd finished that, Akun had finished his plate and was drinking a bowl of something.

"Do they not feed you?" asked Lette, winking at her.

"We did," she said.

"They did," agreed Akun. "But I'm. Used to slave bran?"

She winced, if only internally. 

"That stuff," said Lette, rolling her eyes.

"We don't do that in Seiseaux," she announced. "Food doesn't have to be unhealthy to be good, you know."

"I do now," Akun said, looking at the liquid. "What is it?"

"Fermented bean paste in dried seaweed broth," said Lette, as he picked it up again.

"Seaweed is good for your hair," added Bailí.

"Is it?" he asked, placing a now-empty bowl back on the countertop.

"Said to be, anyway," she said. "Definitely nutritious. If you're done, we'll go to the shrine now."

"Yes," he said, and followed her willingly, almost eagerly, to the smaller shrine. Then again, he was at least a little religious. Besides the other issue, which . . .

Well, she couldn't tell him, however much she wanted to. Not yet.

She took a cushion and sat down and waited until he sat too, and still the right words wouldn't come. One of the times she had to be honest, then. "I can't think of a good way to say this," she said. "So I'm just going to go ahead and spit it out. The - you sometimes just know things, even things you shouldn't. Things you couldn't possibly have learned."

Akun froze, like a deer before the running lights of a cruiser. Then he admitted, "Yes."

She nodded. "And you can make things turn out the way you want."

"Sometimes," he said. She nodded. 'Sometimes' was the best possible result, before she'd learned the particular knack of it.

"Right," she said. "I know you can do that. I can do it too, and I can tell when you are, and I _always_ make things turn out the way I want."

" - oh."

She did want to teach him, now, immediately, how to do it properly. It was almost a physical ache. That way lay ruin, that way lay heartbreak and desolation, and it was avoidable. She said, "But I like you, Akun, and my husband likes you. Just don't try to make anything turn out a way I don't want, and I won't mind when you make other things turn out the way you do. Also, don't tell my lord husband, that would be bad. All right?"

"Yes." That wasn't quite right, but the right thing wasn't obvious, either. To either of them.

"Good. If you're not sure, just ask." She leant forward and kissed his check, then rolled back onto her feet. "I'll leave you here. Clean the offering bowl when you're done."

She felt unsettled after closing the door; ironically, she needed a shrine. She sent a message to Veev, the most imperturbable of the household, to show him around. Then, since Akun was occupying the comfortable shrine, she went to the big formal one to meditate it out.

Meditation didn't really tell her anything new, but it did settle her a little. Akun was going to follow the new rules, the ones she'd given him that morning, unless it was life-or-death; and she couldn't really disagree with someone who wanted to save her life, or that of her husband. She sighed, and then decided that she was not going to waste the day and might as well get to work on the latest tripitakata contract.

Tripitakatas were simultaneously the most interesting and the most boring kind of contract. In the most prosaic sense, they were interior design jobs. In the most esoteric, they were about touching Fire. She liked doing them, when she was in the mood; the problem was that the design, planning, building, and execution of a proper Temple took months, during which she'd cycle in and out of being in the mood for Fire several times. She wasn't, just now, but that didn't mean there weren't several tons of stone tiles already in transit. At least on a physical level, it was straightforward enough: she wouldn't have to visit the site again until they started laying the copper, and by then hopefully she'd have gotten Fire back.

She settled down to work on logistics, which were boring but necessary. It was hard going at first, settling down to work on in, but she got there eventually. In fact, it came as a surprise when the timer went off to remind her to stop working and go eat. She blinked, then began saving and shutting down the main terminal.

She was late for lunch in their suite, but Akun hadn't arrived yet either. She took her kiss from her husband as was her due, and then went to go wash her hands in the 'fresher. When she came out and Akun still wasn't there, she looked at her husband's frown and said, "Did we actually tell him to come back here for lunch?"

Lord Mael blinked. "Nnnnno," he said, and picked up his 'pad.

"Silly us," she said, and began unpacking lunch from the cart.

Akun arrived a few minutes later, flushed blotchy red but otherwise looking very nice in a tunic and trousers that Tannoille must have mocked up for him. They still didn't fit properly, and even so he looked delicious. She wanted to see him in a three-piece.

Lord Mael reeled him in for a kiss. That was . . . good. Unexpected, but good. Ahead of schedule, inasmuch as there was a schedule. She kissed him next, just a peck on the lips to say hello. 

"I realize that we didn't tell you to come back, which is our fault," said Lord Mael. "But we do typically eat at noon, and I'll expect you to be punctual from now on."

"Okay," said, Akun. He was visibly thinking something over, but she hadn't even gotten to opening her mouth to demand more when, before he added, "I just. Was taught that eating with my owners is above my station."

" _We_ will decide that," said Lady Mael.

They went back to the lounge area, which had a couch for Lord Mael and a couch for her and a low table. Usually they ate across from one another, but she'd thought that today it would work better to have Akun with them. Lord Mael went and sat at the one place setting at the end of the table. She sat in the further or the two setting forming the long arm of the L. Akun settled between them.

There were little covered bowls with food inside, and a large one for rice. She spooned some out for Akun, a little bit of each dish so she could learn what he liked. Then she took food for herself. Her husband took some as well. Then he said, "You've had a bit of time to get a little more situated."

Akun blinked, clearly nonplussed. "Yes?"

"He means, are there any questions?" she translated.

"It's, um. Pretty straightforward, actually."

"I know you have more questions than that," said Lord Mael.

"Yes, but," he said. "If I asked about the incursions - "

"I'd answer if I could," said Lord Mael, sounding amused.

"We don't know," said Lady Mael. "We had a whole team of dedicated augurs, and they never found an answer better than, 'the nodes around here just do that.'"

"Oh." Akun took a bite of snap peas in brown sauce. When he was done chewing, he added, "And it's you because you - enjoy it."

"What?" asked Lord Mael.

"Fighting ifrit?" Akun prompted.

There was a pause. "Enjoy is not the right word."

"Enjoy is absolutely the right word," she said, pointing her chopsticks at him. "Although really it is because he had the power for it. Potentially had the power for it. He is certain someone was attempting a Urad gambit."

Akun frowned. "Someone is an idiot."

Lord Mael grinned, exactly like a tiger.

"So, um. Why stay?" Akun took a carelessly large bite of rice covered in red sauce, then realized it and made a dive for the tea.

"Oh, we like it out here," she said. "Things that want to kill you obviously want to kill you, for one."

"Fewer people," said Lord Mael, calmly eating his sliced soy curds. "Stable ecologies."

"Outsiders stand out," they chorused together. Lord Mael took a sip of tea while she laughed.

"Not as many opportunities to steal from our vassals," continued Lord Mael. "But any baron who steals from their vassals is doing something wrong."

"Hence the consulting," she explained.

"I, uh." He held up the little 'pad. "I was going to start reading when you called."

She nodded. "Don't forget to exercise. You will have to work more; that's the cost of nicer food."

"You have a full-size pool. Veev showed me."

"Mm," said Lord Mael. "You like swimming?"

"I don't not like it?" he said, hesitantly. "I haven't. They teach basic not-drowning at the Mittan, and that's it. For swimming. I haven't practised in years."

"Drowning is not a hazard on the estate, but that's a reasonable skill to want," she decided. "Go ahead."

"Later," said Lord Mael. "Today, I want you to exercise by running."

Akun did blush wonderfully. He gasped, too, which would have been a lot more appealing if he hadn't then inhaled some amount of food, to judge by the coughing. Lord Mael leaned over, tilted his head, and hit him once, hard, on the back. That worked. Akun gasped a few more times, then picked up his tea and sipped carefully. He said, "Sorry."

"That was _not_ your fault," said Lady Mael, but she was looking at her husband.

"It wasn't," said Lord Mael, meeting her eyes evenly. Then he blinked and looked to Akun and said, "Stop looking at the table. If we'd wanted to see your hair, we could have reclined and had you on the floor."

Akun blinked and looked up. That was good. The saying about eyes and souls wasn't always true, but it was true often enough. Especially around Masters of Fire. Besides, Lord Mael was much easier to read by his eyes, if you knew how. Akun looked to her, as though to confirm this was all right. She shooed him: of course it was.

Akun looked back at Lord Mael. "That's not. It's. Going to take me a little time to retrain myself. To _not_ keep looking down. Even if it isn't. Disrespectful?"

"Is that what you were taught?" she asked.

"Yes? I mean. What else are slaves taught?"

Lord Mael laughed, the genuinely amused one. She looked at him, and raised her eyebrows. Lord Mael said, "I have _no idea_. Just. None," and kept laughing.

"A little positive reinforcement wouldn't be out of the question," she suggested.

"All right," said Lord Mael. "We'll try it your way." He reached out to tug Akun by his jaw; he went, and was pulled straight into a kiss.

It was not a chaste peck, like the greeting earlier had been. It was her husband, kissing someone he'd really like to be kissing back, somehow giving and coaxing at the same time. Akun gentled to it almost immediately, tilting his whole body for a better angle. When her husband pushed him back, he didn't try to hide his moan or look away. She would have been willing to bet her husband's eyes were going from hot-metal to _heat_ , the way they never did with women, because Akun rocked his hips. Then did it again.

"This is going to be a problem," said Lord Mael.

She laughed. "The best kind, I think. Continue, Akun."

Akun flushed again, moaned. Rocked his hips, faster now.

"I'm going to be distracted," complained Lord Mael.

"Going to be?" She arched her eyebrows. "I was distracted all morning. It's - something. It's very something. I owe you an apology."

"Accepted," said Lord Mael. "Did you get anything done?"

"Oh, I worked on the Tripitakata contract," said Lady Mael. "That's going well. On time."

"Good," said Lord Mael. "Those things are always such a pain."

"But profitable," said Lady Mael, who had agreed to disagree with him on the topic of tripitakatas. " - Akun, how was your morning?"

It took Akun a moment to refocus. "I. Really like the shrines," he offered.

Lord Mael chuckled. "She's very good at them, isn't she? And?"

"Your _ships_."

Lord Mael hummed. She said, "You liked the Rillian."

Akun looked down - not to avoid their eyes, just to pick out a piece of fish. "I - used to have this ridiculous fantasy. Back before. When I was still just training to be a mechanic. I had this fantasy that I'd be so good that the Rillian Corporation would buy me. Then I'd get to work on them _all the time_." He ate the fish. "But, um. It's not just the Rillian. You have others, and for the normal ones. I do know how to do basic gateship maintenance. I want tools in my hands again." He took a deep breath and looked up again.

She crooked a finger, smiling as he came. She kissed lightly, warm and sweet, like she had when she'd been first teaching her husband. He sat down when she pulled back, but there was a visible moment when the motion of his hips brought the toy into contact with his prostate. His lips fell open on a breathy whine.

"The workshops?" she asked.

"I don't know about other crafts, but the lathe is a good model," said Akun. "And you seem to be pretty self-sufficient."

"We try to be," said Lord Mael.

"It's really impressive," said Akun, trying to focus on his food. He'd eaten everything but the red sauce on rice. "I - do I have to finish everything?"

"Of course not," said Lord Mael.

"You have to _try_ everything at least once," she explained. "And it's fine to have personal preferences, as long as you obey regardless when we tell you. Spicy foods can be an acquired taste, I admit."

"Especially for someone raised on slave bran," said Lord Mael.

"Oh, that's true," she said. She hadn't been thinking about it. "Milder things, you think?"

"No!" protested Akun. He managed to not look at the table again when they looked askance, too. "I liked the soup, at breakfast, and these vegetables. Trying everything once is. Good." He pretty obviously wasn't just talking about the food. "I - _please_."

"Please what?" replied her husband. "You have to be specific."

Akun blinked, almost dazed, before he said, "Touch me. Please."

Lord Mael looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She looked at him, then Akun, then him again, and tilted her head. He smiled, which was rare, and leaned in to Akun. So did she. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he pushed Akun at her first, and she pulled him into a kiss. This one was hot, scorchingly, and Akun was rocking his hips again by the time it ended.

"So distracting," said Lord Mael from his other side, but not in a tone that said he minded.

She smiled and pulled back to say, "Shut up, you love it," and passed Akun back to him.

It took them a moment to line up properly, but then her husband was kissing him deeply, possessively - good. Akun whined again, protesting, when Lord Mael pushed him back to her.

They passed him back and forth like that for a while, lips and tongue and, when it was Lord Mael, a hint of teeth. It didn't seem to slow Akun down any: he whimpered, and kissed back fiercely. She chuckled and leaned in again to take her due. They continued until she was wet and aching, until she was pretty sure her husband had ruined his pants, until Akun began shaking with pent-up need. Then she winked at her husband, and when Akun next turned to kiss her, put a firm hand on his chest and said, "No."

Akun sat back, obviously confused, looking from one to the other.

"You can stay here for a little while to recover, if you need to," she said.

"And then I expect you to exercise," added Lord Mael.

"But - you - " he began, and then stopped himself. She didn't demand that he say it, because the question was obvious and the answer was not his business. She smiled to let him know she wasn't angry. After a moment, so did Lord Mael.

"I am going to go set up for tomorrow," he said.

"Time?"

"Two to three hours. Maybe less."

She nodded nodded. "Enough for me to finish up and spend some time in the shrine."

"I'm supposed to run for _two hours_?" asked Akun in tones of horror.

"How long do you usually run?"

"Forty minutes," he replied. "Or however long it takes for five kilometers."

"Then five kilometers," she said. They'd adjust it later if, as she suspected, that wasn't enough to burn off Bailí's excellent cooking.

"Same rules from this morning?" asked Akun.

"Yes," said Lord Mael, expression blank; but his eyes were flickering flames. " - don't bother showering after; we're just going to make you sweat again. You can stay in the gym, or go back to the library."

"Or go wait in the playroom," she added impulsively. Then, when Akun swallowed, she demanded, "Say it."

"I. Can I. Look?" At the bewildering and unexpectedly arousing collection of toys.

"You can absolutely look," said Lord Mael. "No touching anything but the drawers themselves, though."

Akun nodded. "All right."

Lord Mael didn't say anything, just pulled him in for another kiss, the soft lips-to-lips kind to say goodbye. She did the same, and by then her husband was on his feet. She got up too, and kissed him goodbye before turning for the door.

Shrine, she thought a little fuzzily. Shrine seemed like an excellent idea.

"I know I said anticipation," said Lord Mael, "but really. I can do this later."

"Not it you want to brand him tomorrow," she said. "Besides which, you're . . . "

He frowned, but turned inwards for a second. Then he shook his head, the way he did when she picked up on something about him before he did. "That's true," he said, and then didn't ask because he knew from experience she wouldn't answer. "What are you going to do?"

"Shrine, a bit. And then work on the contract."

He gave her a wry smile, but out loud he said, "All right. I'll see you in a few hours, then."

She went to shrine, the small and comfortable one this time, and had just gotten settled when her 'pad pinged.

Akun  
  
Should I clean up, or something?  
  


She looked at it.

Akun  
  
What?  
  
I came. It's all over. Should I clean up?  
  
Where are you?  
  
Still your suite.  
  
Then yes. Use a washcloth from the sanitary on the table and cushions. The carpet we'll have to clean with the steamer.  
  


That was conclusive even without attempting to meditate. She rocked back up on to her feet, and got up to put the pillow away. Her 'pad pinged again.

Akun  
  
Done. Going to exercise now.  
  


It took her a long time to get back into the rhythm of work, but once she did she found that she was in the mood to tackle some of the more metaphysical aspects of shrine- and temple-building, so she did. That would necessitate a visit out to the site sooner rather than later, but given the probable underlying cause for this new shift, she suspected it would last. It would be good for her and for their bottom line, so she hummed and dipped a little out of herself and sank into planetary research.

Logath was a marginal world, which in this case meant, 'was just too far from its sun,' so it tended towards mostly-frozen. The long-term solution was to move it closer to the sun, but that would take centuries. In the meantime, the temporary fix was an arcology. It was being built in this case by the Okatas Corporation, and they tended to subcontract various parts of the interior design to specialist firms. She had a reputation for being the best when it came to the spiritual needs of the settler populations, and so was able to pick and choose which contracts she wanted to take. She'd chosen Logath because something about an icy blue world orbiting a hot blue-white star had spoken to her, and now balancing the two against the warmth needed to make a place of worship was the good kind of challenge.

She tranced for a while; the clock said about ninety minutes, but the clock was a filthy liar because it had been two small geological epochs from the inside. After she came up the second time, she decided it was time to do local baron chores, which in general she did because Lord Mael was hopeless at them. He wasn't bad as a judge, or a military leader, but the minutiae of trade deals left him clawing out of his own skin. She didn't like them either, but they needed to happen, so she read the incoming missives and wrote others of her own, and over the course of weeks or months, trade happened.

They were not done when her 'pad next pinged, but she was ready to do something else.

Akun  
  
I feel very alone. Can I come sit with you?  
  


The feeling hit her all at once: immediate-danger and action-now. It was sometimes exhausting, navigating the complex arrays of possible futures. Some of the time, she simply had to listen.

Akun  
  
What?  
  
I'll be quiet. It just feels wrong to be here all alone.  
  


That was because it _was_ wrong, in some infinitely indefinable way. She had to be there with him. His suggestion, of coming to sit with her, was patently ridiculous.

Akun  
  
Where are you?  
  
In the normal room, with the bed.  


The normal room with the bed in her husband's playrooms. Otherwise he'd have said their suite.

Akun  
  
Stay exactly where you are. Don't move. I'll be there in a few minutes.  
  


She hurriedly shut down her large computer, put away her tablet and styluses, and headed across the courtyard to the residential wing. When she arrived, Akun was reclining on the bed reading his 'pad, and nothing was on fire. He began to sit up, but by that time she'd crossed the few steps to the bed and had a hand on his chest pushing back down. "Shh," she said. "Just stay there. I'm here."

"Yes," he said. "But why? I mean. I was trying not to interrupt."

"I know," she said. "Quite frankly, at this point, I welcome any distraction."

"If you say so," he said.

"Mm." She let herself flop sideways, stretching out still fully-clothed.

"Can you. Without breach of contract. Is it okay to tell me about it?"

"Tripitakatas?" said Lady Mael. "You want to know?"

"Not really, but it helps. Sometimes. To talk about it."

"Oh," said Lady Mael, but she was smiling. "No. I actually like doing them most of the time. They just take a lot of concentration for a long time, and it's a bit exhausting. I like variety, and at this point in the process, that's not something there is. Just the same dull thing, all day, each day."

"Forever?" he asked.

She laughed. "For a couple of weeks at the most. Ignore me, I'm just complaining."

"You're far too tense," he agreed.

"Well, you'll just have to do something to fix that," she said.

"Uh. Now? Lord Mael will not - ?"

"Not like _that_. I want to get to know you. You like mechanics. Why?"

"Oh, um. I was good at math. I like it. There is always a right answer. And I like practical applications, so. Mechanics. Then I started to get into it for its own sake." He shrugged. "It's just nice to have things come together properly."

"I agree," she said, although that wasn't how she would have articulated it. "Then you were reassigned?"

"Well, I was a cute kid," he said, "and I didn't grow out of it."

"I wouldn't say that," she said, looking at him. He was still wearing his tunic-and-trousers, but they were rumpled with wear and - other things. "You're cute, but it would be a bit disgusting if you were cute like a child. You grew into it, and were reassigned."

"Yeah," he said. "It isn't bad exactly; more like what you said. It's straightforward, not something I can sink my teeth into."

"It baffles me how anyone can think sex only is enough for anyone. You spent a lot of time bored, didn't you?"

"Well," he said, and then admitted, "yes."

"But not today."

There was a short but audible pause. "Today isn't typical. Is it? I met everybody, and I'll have to go back to Tannoille, but - "

"Not what I meant," she said. "Sex is only boring if you're doing it wrong. Are we?"

" . . . no. I. _Want._."

"Good," she said. "That's good. Which is not to say that there won't be boring days, sometimes, or at least days when I have you doing something mechanical and mathy and tedious. But I hope that mostly you'll be engaged."

"I don't think that will be much trouble. Not with, um."

"My lord husband is a control freak," agreed Lady Mael.

He snickered.

"What?"

"You're _both_ control freaks."

She was quietly shocked for a moment, and then laughed a little. "I suppose so. I never thought of it like that before."

"Mm. Is it. Can I ask about you, too? Your past."

"I'm not so interesting," she warned. "My whole family is bureaucrats and priests and a few minor practitioners. I was an acolyte, too. Before Lord Denn . . . "

"Who?"

"My husband's teaching master."

"Oh. It was an arranged marriage?"

"You sound surprised."

"I wouldn't think. Um. Either of you would put up with that."

She laughed again at the memories. "It wasn't like that. Actually it's a pretty funny story. Denn and I met at this horrible Festival party. It was my first time out as an acolyte so of course I got assigned to the one nobody wanted to go to, and Denn was there because the local Master of Fire couldn't not go to the planetary magistrate's party. As soon as the dancing started, we both bolted for the most secluded place we could find, and found each other. We got to talking. He was . . . he was the first Master of Fire I'd ever met who was willing to listen. He spent the whole evening chasing away creeps and introducing me to everyone who was there and good to know, and even gave me his card at the end.

"I guess I made a strong impression, because the next week this factor showed up at my temple trying to start betrothal negotiations."

"Um," said Akun.

"Yes, exactly. And it's not like I could just say, 'fuck off,' so instead I scheduled the official omiai and in the meantime drafted a will. I showed up dressed as much like a priest as I was allowed, all prepared to gently explain to a man sixty years my senior that even if I were interested in marriage, which I wasn't, I definitely wouldn't be interested in him. Then there was this younger man in the room instead, I assumed his secretary. We introduced ourselves and talked a little, and then a little more, and when I next looked up the clock it was forty minutes later. I went a little berserk: I hadn't even wanted to come and _he'd_ skipped the omiai? At which point my lord husband realized that no one had bothered to explain to me that Denn was negotiating _on his behalf_ , and joined me in detailing every single thing wrong with his master."

Akun stared for a moment, and then giggled. "I'm kind of surprised your gave up the priesthood, though. The shrines here . . . "

"Oh, well. I didn't entirely. I'm still a lay priest." She saw him understand, about the dawn devotions and possibly a little about how she experienced Fire. "But you're right. It was a tough decision."

"Will I get to meet Lord Denn?" asked Akun.

That memory still hurt, but Akun wasn't to know. She said, "No, unfortunately. He died during the Bantomet Incursion."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Just don't mention it to my lord husband. He's still angry at Denn for dying on him like that, and he'll take it out on you if he's not the one to bring it up." She took a breath, then sat up. "Come on, help me get out of this."

"All right?"

Her clothes buttoned on, a long line of them all the way down her back, and a number on her arms as well. She could get the arms, but not the back. Akun popped them free, all in a row. Once she removed it, she spread out and flopped back over.

A little while later, Akun said, almost hesitantly, "Akg, turn on your front, okay?"

"Why?" she asked, but did it. He leaned over to begin rubbing at her shoulders. "Ohh."

"I found some good massage oil in the other room, but I'm not sure if it's okay."

"Mmph. Harder?"

"I. Can't get the right leverage. This way. Can I sit on your legs?"

"Sure," said Lady Mael, so he swung a leg over and sat on her. He was right, though; now he could get the leverage to really pummel her shoulders.

"Would you keep telling me. Um. Did you know he's not attracted to women?"

"Before we married?" she clarified. "Yes. He told me."

"Then . . . "

"At that point in my life, I didn't really want sex. I found it boring. I just made sure he wasn't going to be the jealous type and asked that he buy me a sex slave when I got around to wanting one."

"Oh," said Akun.

"I also wasn't interested in babies then. I'm still really not, but neither of us are getting any younger. If we're going to, we have to do it soon."

"I. Don't understand? If you don't want a baby," he began.

"I don't want a baby. I _do_ want children, and more to the point, my husband needs an heir."

In a legal sense, this was true, but it wasn't like it had to be a child of his blood. Lord Mael had been Denn's heir, and had inherited his not-inconsiderable wealth. It would have been perfectly acceptable for him to just find some likely child who was able to touch Fire, and train them up. But he didn't understand children, and there was no doubt he would mess it up if it wasn't someone who he had other reasons to care about. She'd just been putting it off for a while, because pregnancy did not seem like her idea of a good time.

"And here we are," said Akun, breaking into her thoughts.

"And here we are," she agreed. "I . . . the thing is, I didn't think I enjoyed pain. I would have made him have a playroom that isn't our bedroom anyway - I have one too - but I _avoided_ it. I'm a bit conflicted."

"Don't be," said Akun. "The Master said, 'Fire is the only constant.'" He didn't finish the quote. He didn't have to. Everyone knew that, and a priest, even a lay priest, knew better than most.

"That's a point," she said.

"And I. This might be wrong. But I got the impression. Um. People problems?"

"Mmh." She thought about it. Her husband's habit of stealing condemned men from death row and mindfucking them into some semblance of a halfway decent human being was, objectively, better for everyone involved than just executing them. She just didn't like the people they were, and by the time they got better, her husband was invariably getting bored.

Better that it be someone who was good to start.

She asked, "Doesn't it bother you at all?"

"Ah?"

"Two control freak sexual sadists."

"Oh." Akun went quiet, not refusing to answer but simply thinking his answer through. Then he said, "I'd be lying if I said I'm not, um, _worried_. But it's not. He didn't. I - "

"Deep breath," she interrupted.

He stopped, and took one, and blew it out slowly. "He said that he enjoys teaching his men to _like_ it." She'd been there at the time, a solid silent foundation. "He didn't lie, did he, Akg?"

There was long moment before she said, "No. He didn't lie."

"So," Akun shrugged.

"Hmm. You can stop, now. If I get any more relaxed I'm going to melt and you will have to explain the mess to my lord husband."

He laughed a little at the joke and then climbed off. He lay down next to her, still on top of the covers, and just breathed for a while.

She realized they were breathing in unison with a jolt, and the sudden adrenaline rush put paid any thoughts of dozing off. Well, she amended as Akun breathed too lightly for a snore but too heavily for him to be awake, she wasn't going to doze off. She was going to wonder about moving parts, and wonder if this was all going to end in tears after all, and hope for the best.

Her 'pad pinged an incoming message. She took it out.

Lord Mael  
  
Done.  
  


She frowned, and typed out her message.

Lord Mael  
  
That fast? You are not.  
  
I was motivated. Meet me in my playroom?  
  
I'm already here. Walk quietly; Akun is sleeping.  
  
_How_?  
  
I assume being aroused all day is exhausting. That, or he hasn't been getting enough sleep lately.  
  


She could practically hear him tsk disapprovingly.

Lord Mael  
  
Well, it will give us some time to talk.  
  
Stop by the kitchen on the way up. We'll need something simple and filling later.  
  


She didn't get a response, which usually meant he was following her advice. Indeed, the door opened only a few minutes later. He was wearing the black pants he used for his workshop, and had sort of thrown his jacket on over his torso without bothering to put his arms in the sleeves, and the whole effect was one of barely-contained speed.

"Nice," she said.

He blinked, nonplussed.

"I know you don't particularly care whether or not you're appealing to the female gaze, but right now? You very much _are_."

"Oh," he said, walking quickly over to the bed and sitting down - on the opposite side from where Akun was still curled cutely. "I notice you're here early too."

"Well. He offered me a massage," she said.

He looked startled for a moment, even though he shouldn't have been: it was in Akun's paperwork. "He _offered_?" demanded Lord Mael, and she remembered that even if his men knew how to do massages, they wouldn't offer.

"I think he just wanted to get his hands on me," she said. "He - touch is something he likes. Coupling optional."

"Hmm," said Lord Mael, which meant he agreed. "Positive reinforcement?"

"Yes."

"All right. What are we going to do now?"

"Talk," she said immediately. "Wake him up in a bit, and talk some more. Have fun."

"Fun," said Lord Mael in fatalistic tones, but his expression was more anticipatory. "Did he manage to come at any point today?"

"He pinged me about cleanup, so at least once. Right after we left lunch."

"Really?" He was already pulling out his 'pad, pulling up footage. The two of them were the only people in the house with access to those particular cameras, which were really only there in case of midnight assassination attempts. She scooched closer so she could get a good look. On screen, a small Akun sat at the table. He was not still, fucking himself of the toy to the extent it was possible. He froze for a moment, and she almost thought he'd come, except, no, he was just having an idea. It was obvious because he reached for his own chest and did something that was obscured by the bad camera angle, and _then_ came.

"Oh," she said, while little footage Akun shook apart. Then she glanced at her husband. He was frowning in the going-to-be-angry what. "What?"

He blinked, and looked up at her. "He touched himself."

"Uh. No?"

"He did!"

"Yes, but you specifically said not to touch his _cock_ ," she said. "He didn't. And - pull up our conversation from last night."

Lord Mael blinked, but complied. She fast-forwarded to the important part, and then hit play.

" - robably boring mechanical questions, and then some more interesting ones," she said in the recording.

"Okay," said Akun.

"You can touch yourself as much as you like," came her husband's voice, "but you don't come without permission. However, unless I've specifically told you you're not to ask during a session, you can always ask one of us."

She hit the stop button. Lord Mael said, "Ah."

"You don't get to punish him for _following the rules_ ," she said.

It was a long, almost dangerous moment before he said, "I'll have to be more specific from now on."

She nodded. "Wake him up now?"

"No; if he was able to fall asleep like that, he probably needs it. Come on, I want to show you some - options."

By options, it turns out, he meant he wanted to show her his toys. All of them. After a few minutes, she was forced to say, "No, stop. Not all at once, husband."

He blinked slowly, like he'd forgotten that she'd just learned about her taste for other people's pain. "My apologies, wife. I thought we could make his toy chest together."

"We can," she said. "We will. We're just going to have to start with, mm, _normal_ toys."

"What's normal?" asked Lord Mael.

She laughed and said, "Yes, exactly. For the time being, things whose purpose I know. You weren't wrong about intensity."

"Ah," he said, and, "Come take a look at these."

'These' were a wide range of anal plugs and vibrators and dildos, drawers and drawers of them. To her surprise, while he showed her the really anatomically impossibly large ones, he said, "Not that I think Akun needs these."

She asked, "Does anyone?"

He frowned at her. "Some people, who think they are the best, or at least the biggest, and that makes it acceptable - they _need_ to learn that it's wrong, and this way is a nice bonus for me."

She blinked, and then laughed. "Right, of course, silly me. What happens if he wants them?"

"I don't think he will. He doesn't strike me as that kind of - but of course we can work him up to it, if he does."

So they limited it to things that were less performance pieces and more practical, although plenty of those were also more than half art. Then she looked at the pile and said, "How big is this box going to be?"

Lord Mael said, "You're right. Which do we most want him to wear?"

"I don't want to do it that way," she said. "Not yet."

"No?"

"No, I - I want to know what he likes, and. What he hates."

Lord Mael did that thing he did, sometimes, that felt like Fire without fire. "You don't think he'll tell us if we ask?"

"He will, but only the things he knows about," she said, thinking about the ones that pulsed.

Lord Mael made a noise like a dying cat, and said, "I'd like to kiss you."

"I won't stop you," she said, and then had the nearly-unique experience of being dipped into a kiss.

He'd done that, at their wedding, and then complained about the stress it put on his lower back. She smiled and kissed him and licked into his mouth and _kissed_ him. He kissed back, hungry in a way he rarely allowed her to see, and they were both panting by the time he pulled them upright again. " _Now_ we wake up Akun."

"Agreed."

Akun wasn't deeply asleep, she saw when they returned. He was dozing, floating just below consciousness, enough that he wasn't sleep-paralyzed. Instead, he was humping the bed. She quickly checked, but Lord Mael seemed to be appreciating the view more than anything. At least, he was until he said, "Akun."

Akun woke up instantaneously, stilled, but took a moment to remember where he was and with whom before opening his eyes. "My lord," he said. "I fell asleep?"

Lord Mael nodded. "You did. Have you been getting enough sleep, recently?"

"I was given eight hours each night," said Akun, sitting up carefully. "I didn't find it easy. To sleep."

"So no, then," said Lord Mael, disapproving. He really didn't like the way slave markets were conducted, even if it was the economical way.

"You don't have to be nervous about your future here, at least," she said. "Although we won't take it as an insult if it takes some time."

"We were just discussing what to do with you, in fact," said Lord Mael.

"Oh."

"He wants to hear your thoughts," she translated.

"I, um," said Akun. "Am I supposed to be coming, or . . . ?"

"If you can," said Lord Mael, "while only being touched from the inside."

Akun's dick visibly twitched, but he said, "With, ah, this toy?"

"You don't like it?"

"I didn't say that," said Akun. "It's just not enough."

She laughed and said, "Fair. Let's go pick something else out."

"Let's together?" asked Akun.

"I didn't ask for your input to _not_ take it into account," said Lord Mael.

"Only the only thing I know for certain is that I like the ones that pulse." Akun paused, licked his lips. "I'd really prefer to come."

"Then we're in agreement," said Lord Mael, and walked around the baffle.

Akun met her eyes, tilted his head: a definite question. It took her a moment to catch up and realise what he was asking, and then she smiled. A moment's reflection told her that the outcome now had no significant effect either way. As otherwise she'd had no particular plans coming into this, and she was (apparently) the kind of person who got off on teasing but not outright denial, she nodded. Akun stood up, a little unsteadily for the moment before he caught his balance, and then also walked behind the baffle. She followed.

Her husband had not opened all of the drawers again, at least. He was showing off only the ones they'd already chosen. Akun was looking at them with wide eyes. Wide, but not scared.

"I, uh," said Akun. "I think we need a better plan."

"I think we need a plan at all," she said. They both turned to look at her. "We're agreed on orgasms, and _someone_ is going to fuck Akun. Is it going to be you? Me? Himself?"

"I wouldn't be opposed," said Lord Mael.

"I was," said Akun. "I was looking, before. At these. You said not to touch so I didn't, but I wanted to. With my mouth. Start practising."

Lord Mael said, "That's an idea. Wife? You seemed to like putting the toy in."

"Yes," she said. "But I don't think it'd be comfortable for me to keep doing that for twenty minutes, and Akun isn't immediately going to . . . "

"I don't think so," said Akun. "We could - "

"Yes?" asked Lord Mael, when he didn't continue.

"The. Fucking machine?"

"Wife?"

"Hmm," she said. "The thing is, I don't think he'll be able to focus very well on _you_ if he's - and we haven't even talked about _me_."

"Later, then," said Akun, promptly. "You first. Uh."

"Yes?"

"If the goal is pregnancy," he began.

"It's a goal," she said.

Akun nodded. "So I can, with my mouth - and then on you. It's not guaranteed, but it's at least _possible_ , right?"

She looked over to Lord Mael. He looked back at her, a smile sneaking into his eyes. "Yes," he said.

She said, "The timing is a bit off - we're a few days early - "

"Sperm sticks around," said Akun, which was true enough. "It's - a good start?"

"And then maybe my lady wife will be up to learning to properly use a dildo on you," said Lord Mael, which earned a sharp breath from Akun.

"Maybe," said Akun, "Bed?"

"We still need to pick things out," said Lord Mael.

"Oh." Akun looked over to her.

She shook her head. "I think - I don't want one that will just make you come. I want one that will _wreck you_. You made a good choice yesterday."

Akun moaned, a breathy little thing, and turned back to the various dildos. "I can touch?"

"Of course," said Lord Mael.

Watching him pick one out was interesting, too. He did hold them, and then immediately set aside most of the metal and glass ones. The rest went in a separate pile, and he began running his fingertips over candidates and narrowing them down from there. In not very long at all, he was choosing between a matte black plastic column with very deep ridges, and a green glass one with small nubs covering the surface. Then he looked up. "I can't pick," he said. "They are both . . . "

"Hmm," said Lord Mael, who'd been usefully putting away the discards as Akun deliberated, and stepped over to open another one of the endless drawers. "I have - here."

It was basically the same thing, down to the exact shade of green, except in anal plug form. Akun's eyes widened. "I. _Yes_."

Lord Mael said, "Then this for after, when it's time to plug you up again, and we'll try the plastic one. Why didn't you like the metal ones?"

"Too heavy. Manipulating those for any length of time," he shrugged. "I, um. There are some of those I want to try, though."

"We will try most of them. Eventually," promised Lord Mael. "I've got what I need. Wife?"

"Hmm?"

"I admit that most of these are designed for anal play, but - "

"Oh, no. For now I'm just watching." At his look, she added, "Learning."

"Ah. Then I believe we are ready."

"No," said Akun. "Can I - will you show me how to get your armor off?"

"Eager," he replied. "But not yet. Wait."

"For what?"

"Tomorrow," said Lord Mael. "Come on."

"Why not now?" asked Akun, innocently curious.

"I'll explain," said Lord Mael. "Later."

Akun took that for the order it was, and shut up. They went back to the room with the bed, and he cooperated with her in getting the armor off, and then his harness and padding as well. He'd burned some off the tension from earlier off - probably in setting up the spell for tomorrow - so he was a little less bright than usual; but arousal was fanning those flames. He'd be blazing away again shortly.

By the time he was naked, Akun had stripped to the underwear they'd given him, and also neatly folded his clothes into a compact bundle. She blinked. Her husband always racked armor properly, but it had taken her ages to train him to put the padding in the laundry hamper. It was nice that she wouldn't have to train Akun.

"Put it on the bedside table," she said.

"And then come kneel between my legs," said her husband, who'd settled himself back on the edge of the bed and was unsurprisingly hard.

"Um," said Akun.

"I brought a training toy," said Lord Mael, and opened his hand to reveal a ring of shiny stainless steel, rounded smooth on the inner edge but with a rabbet on the outer edge. "To keep teeth from being a problem. That's the part you have trouble with, correct?"

"Yes," said Akun, taking the ring. "I. I'd like to have a way to. Ask for more direction?"

Lord Mael blinked.

"Not a bad thought," she said.

"It isn't," agreed Lord Mael. "Your hands will be free. If you need more direction, just grab one of our hands."

"Okay," said Akun, and slipped the ring into his mouth. It was wide enough for Lord Mael to be able to fuck him through it, and it forced Akun's mouth open. Almost as soon as it was in, Akun made to start. Lord Mael stopped him with a hand to his shoulder, and he looked up in confusion.

"Rock your hips," ordered Lord Mael. "You asked, earlier, for me to tell you what I'm going to do before doing it." Akun's eyes widened, and then, astonishingly, he blushed. Her husband continued. "It's a work in progress, and subject to change. Faster. At the moment, the plan is to choke you on my cock, use you until I come; and then let my lady wife use you until _she_ comes. We'll decide what to do after depending on how we feel, but chances are good you'll get to be fucked. If you can't come from that, then we'll just plug you up again," Akun moaned, "and try again tomorrow, and after, for as many days as it takes. But I think you will. You're already drooling for it." He reached forward with his thumb, scooped up the trail of saliva that was leaking from Akun's stretched mouth and brushed over his upper lip with it, leaving it wet and shiny. Akun shuddered, hips gyrating. "You may begin."

Akun practically threw himself forward, a single desperate motion. She leaned in from behind, letting her breasts rest on her husband's absurdly freckled back while she draped her arms more loosely about his torso. The view from this angle was definitely better than from the side: she could see the way Akun's cheeks hollowed around his cock, but she could also see the way he pressed into it when Lord Mael ran his hands through Akun's hair. The way he resisted for a moment when Lord Mael pushed him off. He looked up, blinking.

"This isn't a race, nor should it be," said Lord Mael. "Slow down. Take your time. _Savor._ "

Akun, with no hesitation at all, reached for one of the hands still in his hair.

It was Lord Mael's turn to be confused, but fortunately, she understood. "We both have other slaves, if all we want is a quick orgasm," she said. "That's not what you're for, Akun; we are still both _very_ interested. More interested, if possible."

Akun dropped his eyes back to his task, dipped his head to return to it. He didn't go back to trying to choke himself on Lord Mael, although she was sure that was still going to happen. For now, he sucked just the head inside, tonguing at it gently but thoroughly, at least if her husband's shudder was any indication.

Then he squeaked and flinched. "If you can't get the right angle, just come closer," said Lord Mael, a buzzing rumble felt all along her front. He had been having trouble, and her husband had - kicked him? No, nudged him, in his balls, with his bare foot. That was the warning, but next time it would be a kick.

Akun came to the same conclusion, and shuffled a bit closer, so he could start a rhythm that would keep at least the tip on his tongue even when he sat all the way back. A jolt ran through his entire body every time he did, the toy pressing into his prostate. He closed his eyes to be less distracted, but she could see immediately that it also worked to heighten the sensations. He began making those little ah-ah noises, cries of pleasure he probably couldn't even hear.

Lord Mael guided him to lean forward a bit more each time, take more. Akun didn't have any trouble with it, although he did have to shuffle forward again when his balance became too precarious. It wasn't fast, exactly, but it still wasn't very long until he was taking more than would physically fit in his mouth. Akun paused, took a deep breath, and then pressed forward steadily.

"Oh," she breathed out. "Hold a moment, I want to - " and she pulled back and slipped around sideways, until she could run two fingers against the column of Akun's throat, feel her husband. Akun swallowed reflexively; Lord Mael made a stillborn sound that, she was almost certain, would have been a moan. She said, "No, make noise. He likes it. And," she added, to the flare of heat from his Fire, "I like it, too."

There was a long moment, during which Akun pulled back enough that he could breathe again. He swallowed a couple more times - what must that feel like from the inside? - and pushed his head against one of Lord Mael's hands. They'd gone mostly slack, resting instead of gripping.

Lord Mael said, "Well, if my lady wife likes it." But, the next time Akun went for it, he didn't stifle the sound. She leaned up and kissed it off his lips. They kept kissing for a while after that. She could tell that he liked it and was surprised by that, enough that he pulled back to ask.

She put a finger to his lips. "It makes a difference. Love."

He sighed, sad, a little lost, and put an arm around her in a silent plea that she not leave. She set her head against his shoulder in answer. Really, where would she even go? Especially not now that Akun was whimpering again, not at all shy about voicing how _he_ felt about the proceedings. Even muffled as he was.

"That's it," she encouraged. "We have you."

Lord Mael came. She heard him stutter, catch himself and let the moan out, long and low and liquid. Felt the shift in balance as he pushed Akun away. Akun stuttered too, in motion, but didn't actually stop moving, although he did bring a hand up to help. Lord Mael coiled tenser and tenser, and then in one shudder all the tension went.

"Better?" she said.

"Much. You can stop," he added, to Akun, who was still moving - on the toy, she realized. He did, reached up to remove the ring. There was an audible pop when he closed his mouth. He tilted his head at them.

"Yes," she said. "We're racing the clock, now. Get up here."

Akun nodded, and then there were a busy few moments while all three of them repositioned and got comfortable. She piled up some cushions to provide lumbar support. Akun put one of her legs over each shoulder, scooted between them. Lord Mael reclined sideways, facing them. She didn't see the point; it wasn't as if there was going to be anything to watch.

"I want to," he said, preempting the question.

She shrugged.

This was apparently the wrong answer, according to Akun, because he rolled his eyes and grabbed Lord Mael's hand and placed it very firmly on her clitoris.

"That was not exactly what I had in mind - " began Lord Mael, and then stopped when Akun shuffled forward, lifting her until her back was one long curve with no apparent effort. His purpose became obvious a moment later: like this, gravity would be working with them. It would hurt her back if they did it for too long, but she didn't think Akun meant to do this for long. The angle wouldn't let him lick anything other than her actual vagina, though. "Oh."

"I think our Akun has a plan," she said, smiling. "Let's see where this goes."

"Agreed," said Lord Mael, and moved his fingers. She hadn't been expecting it, gasped, and couldn't squirm because Akun was holding her hips steady. Lord Mael smirked. Akun smiled. They turned as one to her.

The thing was, her husband was generally very good at bringing her off; of course he was, the perfectionist. On the other hand, he didn't get much out of doing it, so he was good in a clinical sense: all technique, no passion. On the first hand again, there was something to be said for keeping a cool head while she was shuddering. On the second -

Her thoughts derailed as Akun got his tongue inside her, warm and slick. He'd curled it a bit, so it was the soft underside, and he couldn't get it very far inside. Nevertheless, he was fucking her, slow and sensuous, and after a moment's thought she realized that the curl was so that he could funnel the semen into her, push it in with his tongue. The thought hadn't been particularly arousing when he'd suggested it. Now it was, _blindingly_.

"Faster," she said, meaning the command for Akun. Both of them obeyed, which was an unexpected shock. Not a bad one, though. Not at all.

And then, showing some initiative in having sex with her for the first time probably ever, Lord Mael followed this by leaning in to nibble at one of her nipples, almost hungrily.

"Oh, really?" she said.

"Mm-hmm," he replied, and the bristle of his beard against her skin was ticklish, made her tense up to laugh, and that was how she came: smiling.

Neither of them stopped. Akun, at least, shouldn't yet. Her husband -

Her husband was looking at her in fascination. She was confused. It wasn't as though he'd never seen her come before.

"Stop that now," she said. "Not you, Akun."

"No good?" asked Lord Mael.

"Too good," she said, and then gasped again when Akun breathed out sharply, a cool little blast just _there_. "Why is that funny? - no, you can answer when you're done."

Akun responded by sealing his lips against her skin and thrusting his tongue deeper and holding it there for a moment while she throbbed. Then he withdrew again, resumed fucking the semen into her. She reflected that, excellent choice or not, she had to get used to the way he was going to take every inch they gave him. And, given their shared talent, generally be right about doing so. He hummed, and it buzzed all the way through her. She wondered how long it was physically possible for the pleasure to last. Not this long, surely?

Longer, it turned out. It didn't matter what he said about boredom, Akun must genuinely love doing this. He kept on licking her, gentle little kitten laps against her overheated skin, even as he lowered her legs back to bed and followed her down. Or maybe he just loved doing this with them.

"Say it," she said, the thought only half-formed by the time it came out of her mouth.

"I'd. If I wouldn't come in about half a second from doing it, I'd love to fuck you to a second orgasm," said Akun, and then huffed out another breath. "I mean - "

"Thank you for your honesty," she said, which at least stalled out the apology.

"It was crude," said Akun distastefully.

"But true," said Lord Mael, and tugged him up for another scorching kiss. She watched with interest. As far as she was aware, it would just taste of salt and bitter, which wasn't her idea of a good time. Then her husband moaned into it, and she realized it tasted of them together. He was ravenous for it, Akun totally unable to keep up with the hungry demanding press of his mouth. The slave reached up to grab a bicep, to hold on, and otherwise just opened up for it.

She was struck with the completely inappropriate image of a plum blossom, still in the bud. She paid attention; that felt like Fire, and was therefore something both true and useful. By the time the thought faded, Lord Mael had pulled back a little.

"That's, um," said Akun. "Not the usual reaction. To. Saying things like that."

"It isn't?" asked Lord Mael, voice gravelly low and his entire presence sparking for the sheer joy of it.

" . . . maybe it is, now," said Akun.

"It depends on my lady wife, I think," said Lord Mael.

"I like the truth," she said.

"Although that particular word, yes, you could have chosen better," said Lord Mael. "With us, it is not just fucking, is it?"

"No," said Akun. "No it is not. Is it - I can. Tell you my ideas?"

"You did more than telling," she said, stretching luxuriously.

"Well, no. But that. Um. It's different."

"How so?" asked Lord Mael, genuinely curious. "Take time, if you need it."

Akun nodded, and spent a moment composing his thoughts before speaking. "I'm supposed to be a - kind of a bridge?" Lord Mael nodded. "So when I see some place where you aren't quite connected, and I know the right thing to do, that's where I'm supposed to direct you. If it's just something _I_ want, then it's. Okay to tell you my ideas, I guess, but not . . . following them isn't, er, helpful. For the two of you. It's nice for me, is all."

"Wanting to give me lots of orgasms is _not_ selfish," she argued.

"No," agreed Lord Mael. "But it is a kind of greedy. I can see it. It's fine."

"It is?"

"I'm never going to want that, and you deserve to have someone who does," he said, which was not nearly enough of an explanation. "It's up to you, taking him up on it or not."

"I - okay," she said, and, because she was going for the better future, "You too."

"As though," said Lord Mael, and then stopped. He turned to Akun. "You'd want to?"

Akun snorted. "Maybe it's something you can't feel, my lord Master of Fire, but you are _hot like burning_."

Lord Mael made a noise that couldn't decide whether to be a growl or a chuckle at the terrible pun. "Right now?"

"It wouldn't work right now," pointed out Akun.

"In general, then."

"Am I - not supposed to be asking for sex when. Um. You said asking was okay?"

"We did," conceded Lord Mael. And then, in tones that suggested he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "You're a female consort."

Akun shrugged. "I got the basic training, and then there was an aptitude test. The Mittan only considers personal preferences a factor when it's. Like you. You _can't_ , with women."

"Yes, but you didn't enjoy it, either."

"Uh," said Akun. "Yes I did? In the sense that generally no one minded if I had an orgasm after."

Lord Mael stared some more. "And - what about _you_?"

"I _like_ it," said Akun in tones of deep appreciation, which did nothing to hide how much he hadn't, in the past, been engaged in the sex he was providing.

Lord Mael looked, if anything, more disgruntled. It was such a look of disturbed offense, like a cat walking on ice and seeing fish beneath it and unsure about why it couldn't reach them. She couldn't help laughing. "Wife," he said tightly.

"No, don't mind me," she said, as she pushed herself upright.

"Tell," he demanded.

She raised her eyebrows at Akun.

Akun said, "I was bored. A lot." He licked his lips before adding, "And now I'm not."

"You don't want to talk about this," said Lord Mael. "Why?"

Akun stopped again, stilled his breathing. "It's not usually a productive line of thought, for a slave. Wanting things I can't have."

"What can't you have?"

"To not have been bored," said Akun. It was a good way to put it, because she knew Lord Mael would have been after it like a terrier with a rat otherwise. He had, however, run into the solid impossibility of changing the past. More than once. He wouldn't try fixing it, except in the way that involved a better future.

She said, "Our Akun," and crooked a finger. Akun came eagerly, kissed her with honed skill barely covering his impatient enthusiasm. She found she liked it, the sense of tightly-leashed need and the way he was holding still to keep from writhing both. When she pulled back, he swayed there, dazed. She said, "So. How is this going to work?"

"Hands and knees," said Lord Mael. "We can progress to more acrobatic positions later, but for now - " Akun was already scrambling into the requested position, " - spread your legs wider. You need better support and we need more access. Good. There. Hold that."

Akun made a noise of - she wasn't quite sure - and began to flush. She said, "Say it."

"I can't. I don't - that was _hot_."

"Hmm," she said, accepting it. Articulating what she found enjoyable about this wasn't easy, either. She looked over to Lord Mael. "Intensity again?"

"Always," said Lord Mael, voice dark and warm. "You should open him up a little on your fingers first. That toy isn't really very big."

"Yes, I saw," said Akun. "I don't. Um. I'm not that . . . "

"It would take a lot of training up to those, true," said Lord Mael.

Akun let his head fall between his shoulders. "Oh."

It wasn't a lie, exactly. Or a threat. But she could still see why her husband had done it, even though he had no intention of using those on Akun.

She said, "Head here now," and pulled the toy out.

Akun, who only had that warning, gasped and shuddered and asked, "I can come, right?"

"As many times as you're able," she confirmed. "I won't stop until _I'm_ ready."

That earned her a low, broken moan, and a, "Please."

She nodded, and slicked her fingers up from a bottle that her husband had helpfully appeared from someplace. Then she pressed the tip of a finger against where he was clenching again and again.

Akun repeated, "Please."

"Mm. Tell me how you're feeling?"

"Horny," said Akun.

She chuckled a little. "No, not physically."

"Oh," said Akun, and shuddered. "I . . . wanted. Owned."

She nodded, and pressed her finger in. Akun breath in harsh appreciation, and then pushed back. She smiled. "Keep talking. I can't make you feel good unless I know."

"Okay," said Akun. "That's - more of a tease. Not a stretch. Not very deep."

"The toy wasn't big or deep either," said Lord Mael.

"I know, I know," said Akun. "But it was there _all day_. I want more."

"You'll get it," she said, pulling out the finger to reslick. "Which is better for you? Stretching, or depth?"

"Um," said Akun, and then stopped talking to pant and writhe for a while when she shoved two fingers back in. After a while he did pull himself back together enough to say, "That's. Not a fair question."

"How so?"

"Which is better, being sucked or being fucked?"

"Making love," she said instantly, and was pleased when this got a moan from Akun and a sharp breath from Lord Mael. "But I see your point." She removed her fingers, and coated the toy they'd picked. "Relax for me."

Akun visibly did, making the muscles in his legs and arms and back go as slack as they could while still holding him up. She lined the toy up, and pushed the tapered head in.

"Ohh," breathed Akun, and wiggled his hips.

"Yes?"

"Yeah," said Akun, and then he went unfocused again when she slowly pushed the first ridge in, watching. His body resisted at first, but under the inexorable pressure was forced to open for it; and then, once the ridge was in, closed quickly, pulling it deeper. Akun twitched, bearing down and then releasing, as if searching for more. She pushed another ridge in, and another.

"Keep talking," she said.

"I don't - _nnh_. I'm not going to be very. Coherent?"

"That's the point," she said.

"Oh," said Akun, and, "That's - good. I. They're distinct. I can feel them."

"Is that why you chose this one?"

"I don't know," said Akun. "Maybe? I'm not su - oooh," he bit off a moan. "I told you, I'm not very experienced."

"Point," said Lord Mael. "How about this: do you like it?"

" _Yes_ ," replied Akun, almost before he'd finished asking the question. "They push up against my spot, and," he hitched a breath when she forced another couple into him, "it's a stretch, but not like. Not too much. Like stretching after exercise."

"The good kind," she said.

"Yeah. Two different sensations. On their own - I couldn't," his breath hitched again, and he swallowed with an audible click. "Neither one would - be enough. Together - 

"Ah," she said, as her husband got up off the bed. Surely not another toy? "It's about sensation. You're a little bit of a hedonist, aren't you?"

"Am I?" he asked, not coy. Just confused.

"One who seeks the maximization of pleasure," said Lord Mael, returning to sit closer to the head of the bed. "Here. Suck. Not too quickly."

It was a glass of water, and a straw. Without being told, she paused while Akun sipped and swallowed and sipped again.

"All right," he said. "I - I'm good."

"You're much better than _good_ ," said Lord Mael. "Wife?"

"Yes," she said, and continued pressing the toy inexorably home. There wasn't much left, anyway.

Once it was in, Akun said, "Is that - it feels so big."

"Not painful?"

"No! Again? Faster? Please?"

It took a bit of time. The slide out left Akun a gasping mess, and she realized immediately that this was a thing, for her: getting Akun so worked up that he was literally incapable of speech. This didn't stop him from communicating, anyway, by leaning his body differently and moaning when they caught the right angle. They didn't every time, at least to start. It took her a little while to figure it out: the right angle was not a pass that would directly hit his prostate, but an oblique glide that would bring each individual rib up against it in turn.

She looked up to see if her husband had caught it, and he had, but he also had a different look in his molten eyes.

"Husband?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said, which was a lie; but it was the kind of lie where there weren't words for how he was, and the totally insufficient 'fine' had to be made to serve. He was running a soothing hand up and down Akun's side, the one closer to him.

She said, "Did you want a turn?"

"Another time. I'm enjoying the show." This was also a lie by insufficiency of language.

She blinked and said, "You like watching - this?"

"Apparently," he said. "Keep on. I think he will come like this."

Which hadn't been in question, but of course he couldn't know that. She shrugged, and turned back to teaching Akun the meaning of the word 'hedonist.'

Akun kept begging her to go faster, with words when he caught enough breath for it and with motion the rest of time, and she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. Not until he stopped clenching quite so tightly on the toy, anyway, muscles pummeled into the necessary laxity. Then she did speed up, and Akun went from begging to incoherent in about two thrusts. Not just verbally incoherent, either, but wild whole-body spasms that left his physical communication a static buzz as well.

She looked up, caught her husband's eyes, and lifted her eyebrows.

"All right," he said, smirking just a bit as he leaned in to kiss Akun at the nape of his neck and then whisper something just as she thrust the toy in again.

Akun actually collapsed when he came, elbows giving out; but Lord Mael was there to catch him and gently turn him over and say, "Keep going," so she did. Akun's face was entirely free from artifice, and if she hadn't known better she might have mistaken it for pain. As it was, she slowed down a little but didn't stop the motion of the toy while he shook his way through it. She didn't stop after, either, even when Akun made an abortive motion to - she wasn't sure, honestly. It came out as a fully-body twitch, and he continued twitching, almost flinching at her thrusts.

"Wife," said Lord Mael. She looked over at him. He was stroking his cock, which was jutting out proud and red, and watching Akun _hungrily_. "I might have been a bit mistaken."

It didn't take a genius to understand the actual question. And, well, her arm _was _a bit tired. Still. "Lube," she said, firmly.__

__He nodded, and without looking reached for the bottle and pumped a few times and slicked himself up. She waited until he was almost done to pull the toy out completely and shuffle back. Akun let his thighs relax shut a little; or at least he did until she put a hand on one to push it back open. Then he opened his eyes, blearily trying to focus. His eyes widened when he understood that they were just swapping places._ _

__What he actually said, was, "I won't," and that was as far as he got before his voice broke._ _

__"You will," said Lord Mael, and lined up and pushed in. Akun's eyes immediately went distant, all attention elsewhere. Lord Mael was not doing long deep slow passes: he was moving in little jerks, hammering Akun's prostate, and Akun _definitely_ liked the ones that pulsed. He was gasping constantly, and the twitching was back to full-on writhing. He hadn't even gone soft._ _

__"Do you care about the order?" she asked her husband._ _

__He glanced to her. "Usually, but - surprise me."_ _

__She nodded, and leaned in to murmur in Akun's ear. "It's really good, isn't it? That's why you're moving so much: you don't want to come yet, because then it'll be over. But I want to watch you again, so when I say, you're going to stop all that thrashing and bear down and just feel Lord Mael inside of you, coupling with you. Then you're going to shove back, get him as deep in as you can, and keep him there until he comes." Akun made a broken noise, thrashed his head, which she duly ignored. "Ready? _Clench down now_."_ _

__He did, she could see. She watched the exact moment when he tensed all of his muscles to move again and then didn't, and the sensation caught up with him as he moved one last time, impaling himself even as he came again, tears spilling out his eyes. A moment later Lord Mael came as well, drawn by Akun's whipcord tension or the physical sensation or the sight of it, or maybe all three. Whatever the reason, he allowed himself to drop forward, trapping Akun's cock between them while the last few gobs of semen oozed out._ _

__They paused like that, her husband and their consort, while she reached around to find where the water had gone. Lord Mael had sensibly put it on the bedside table. She offered it to Akun, and then handed the rest over to husband. He finished it in two huge gulps._ _

__"Clench down again," she said, and was rewarded with a moan from both of them, Akun's carrying a note of desperation. She smiled._ _

__"No," said Lord Mael._ _

__"I didn't - "_ _

__"You were thinking it. Whatever it is, no."_ _

__"All right," she said, content to bask in the pleasant post-coital haze._ _

__It was some minutes before any of them did anything else, and then it was Lord Mael asking, "What was it you weren't going to do?"_ _

__Akun blinked. "Be very good." He chuckled, softly. "That was wrong."_ _

__"I can see where it would be a concern, though," said Lord Mael. "My wife is a little bit genius, isn't she?"_ _

__"That's not news," said Akun. "Agk. You're too far away."_ _

__"Am I?" she asked, but scuttled closer. They stank of sex already; it wouldn't be worse over with them. It actually was better. Lord Mael wasn't burning more than he ever did, sand and cinnamon. The surprize was where Akun was a glowing ember just big enough to warm one's hands. She burrowed in against both of them._ _

__"Mm," said Lord Mael. "I don't think I've been ready again that quickly in, oh, a decade."_ _

__"I've never done that before, ever," replied Akun. "It was - good. Really, really good."_ _

__"Say it," she said._ _

__"It's not. Usually about how good it is for _me_. At any point."_ _

__"Wasn't," she corrected gently. "Clench."_ _

__Akun shuddered when he did; Lord Mael went a little cross-eyed. " _Wife._ "_ _

__"All right, I'll stop," she promised, but could not stop smiling. "Akun. If we didn't want you here with us, we wouldn't have bought you. You were right about needing to override us when you're being our bridge. Stop worrying so much about proper places."_ _

__"I wasn't complaining!" protested Akun. "Just - saying thank you? It's. Better. Like this."_ _

__"Of course it is," she said. Coupling was well and good, but it didn't hold a candle to love._ _

__"You're welcome," said Lord Mael, amused. Then, "We should shower, and - do you need to prep again before . . . ?"_ _

__"It's probably best," said Akun. "I . . . don't want to move, really."_ _

__Lord Mael said, "If I have to get up, so do you."_ _

__"Do you have to get up?" asked Akun, even while Lord Mael began peeling himself off._ _

__"I have baronial duties, yes. Hold still."_ _

__Akun held very still while he pulled out, then reluctantly pushed himself upright. "Can I come with _now_?"_ _

__" . . . I suppose that will be acceptable," said her husband._ _

__"Now?" she asked, rolling so she could get off the other side of the bed._ _

__"He wanted to shower with me this morning as well."_ _

__"And you didn't let him?"_ _

__"We'd never have made it out of the suite."_ _

__Which was a good point. He was going to be twitchy about it for a while, too, at least until he settled down to being less voracious for - well, really, it was more for what Akun represented than what he actually was. But it was a terrible idea for him to know about that, and behind him she saw Akun flinch with how strong that bad future was. Fortunately, she was better at hiding her reactions. "Adjust your schedule, then. We'll need time in the mornings."_ _

__"Yes," he agreed._ _

__"Oh," said Akun, disappointed. They both turned, but neither had to ask for an explanation before he said, "There were - dawn devotions? I wanted - am I allowed to join?"_ _

__"You are absolutely allowed to join," she said. "I'll wake you up tomorrow, if you like."_ _

__"Yes please," said Akun following them around the baffle._ _

__"So dawn devotions for us, and that neatly delays both problems until we meet up here before breakfast." It was an elegant solution, and she liked elegant solutions._ _

__"Both problems?" asked Lord Mael, leaning forward to turn on the shower spray._ _

__"Me wanting to touch," said Akun, magnetically clipping the curtain to the wall and enclosing them. "I mean. That not wrong, is it?"_ _

__" . . . not wrong," said Lord Mael. She watched his dawning understanding that Akun liked him in a way that had nothing to do with sex. Being Lord Mael, he didn't quite get yet that it was more intimate than sex could ever be, but that would come. Right now he was simply flailing around not having any idea of what to do. As a rule, his men started out hating him, and even after their emotions about him got complicated, that basic premise tended to linger. Finally he looked over to her, wordlessly asking for help._ _

__"Hold still, Akun. We'll wash you, today," she said, and that was more or less exactly what they did, although they switched off to give themselves time to wash too. Akun was eagerly cooperative, leaning into their touches, and it was only half because of his fastidiousness._ _

__When they were done, Lord Mael said, "Enemas. Since we're here, we might as well cover the basics."_ _

__She'd always found the concept slightly disgusting, although admittedly much less disgusting than the alternative. Still, she had agreed to learn it. So she said, "Yes."_ _

__Really it wasn't awful. Akun had spoken of it like brushing teeth, and he'd been honest: he went through the motions without hesitance and with a slight air of boredom. She was most surprised to learn that it was actually unhealthy to do it too often, even if using saline. "How did they deal with that at the market?" she asked._ _

__"Terribly," said Akun. "Two days of bran fiber, and then a day off the floor. It works, but it's . . . " He made a face."_ _

__"How are we going to deal with it?" she asked._ _

__"A balanced diet, plenty of healthy exercise, and a change of toys at the same time every day," said Lord Mael. "In my experience, it's really not a problem. You will tell us if is it, though."_ _

__"Yes," said Akun. "It won't be. Um. Unless I'm sick."_ _

__"If you're sick, you will be bundled in bed, drinking soup."_ _

__Akun smiled. "Thank you. Ah . . . "_ _

__"Yes, we did promise you a toy, didn't we?" said Lord Mael._ _

__"Why that one?" she asked, as they turned to head back into the other room._ _

__"I liked the color," said Akun._ _

__"Green?"_ _

__"Yes. I like plants. There weren't many, at the Mittan."_ _

__It was as good a reason as any other, and better than some. "Do you garden?"_ _

__" - no," said Akun. "I mean. There's never been a chance. I don't know if I like gardening." He climbed back onto the bed. "Should I do the prep, or did you want . . . ?"_ _

__"Husband?" she asked. She'd gotten a chance already that day, after all._ _

__"No, thanks," he said. "You seem to like that."_ _

__"I do."_ _

__"Why?"_ _

__"I don't know, actually. I just do."_ _

__Akun chuckled, then gasped as she eased a finger back in. "Say it."_ _

__"It's the same thing as I like, I think," said Akun. He was already loose, just in need of more slick. Accordingly, she added more._ _

__"What is that?" she prodded._ _

__"About - togetherness," said Akun, audibly flailing for the right word. "We don't get more together."_ _

__Which was interesting in its own right: Akun didn't understand love either. That at least made sense, since he'd never have had any basis for comparison. "That's some of it," she agreed, "but not all. Don't worry. We'll find it sooner or later." She pulled her fingers out, wiped them on the coverlet before lubing up the plug._ _

__He very carefully didn't move while she pushed it in, even though she could see him wanting to. Once it was in he squeezed once and huffed out a breath._ _

__"No good?" she asked._ _

__"Good, just. The texture is better in motion? Like this I can't even really feel it."_ _

__"Would you want to?" asked Lord Mael, on Akun's other side._ _

__Akun took long enough to think that through before he admitted, "Probably not."_ _

__"But?"_ _

__"But that other one," said Akun._ _

__"Oh," she said. "Yes. Like my husband said, we will get to all of them."_ _

__"I'll look forward to it, then," said Akun, and, "What should I do now? You're going to be doing, er, your duties, right? And I . . . "_ _

__"Have journals to read," she suggested, looking across to Lord Mael._ _

__"Come with us," he said. "We don't usually, but we can do it in the suite."_ _

__"Is that okay? That won't be disruptive?"_ _

__"Only if you read out loud," said Lord Mael, with a wink._ _

__Akun smiled and said, "Okay. Can I have new underwear? These are . . . "_ _

__"Disgusting?" suggested Lord Mael. "I'll go get some." He did. It was bright, peacock-green, and also had peacock-like sheen. Akun looked like he wanted to giggle, but since the thought was obvious she didn't ask. They did make his ass look fantastic, though. So did the rest of the clothing: despite the fact that Tannoille was incapable of understanding human mating drives, it was capable of and enjoyed collaborating on human aesthetics._ _

__Akun settled down to read fairly quickly. Lord Mael settled down to his duties much less quickly, even with her there to softly discuss the work with him, because he hated doing this. He didn't ever shirk, but the hatred showed in the way he avoided doing it outside of specified times and the way he was distractible. He was less so today, though, quietly discussing the more tedious aspects of running a colonial barony, the water systems and schools and local town planning commissions._ _

__It wasn't that unbelievable, of course; he was always more settled after starting a new . . . pet project. Just not to this degree._ _

__Perhaps it was for this reason that it took her an embarrassingly long time to notice that Akun was paying more attention to them than to his datapad. "Did you want something, our Akun?" she asked._ _

__Akun blinked and shook his head. "Sorry. I was. Admiring the view?"_ _

__Lord Mael chuckled. "Well then. Admire away."_ _

__"You don't apologize for that," she added, to make sure he understood. "Asking is always fine."_ _

__Akun smiled, and turned back to his 'pad; but he stopped trying to hide it when he looked at them. He did that a lot, every few minutes at minimum, but never for more than a few seconds at a time. She was tempted to demand to know what he was thinking, and didn't only because it probably wasn't something he could articulate. It didn't matter, anyway. It was the time spent together that was important, while they were new to each other and still quite fragile._ _

__At about the point Lord Mael would have started getting loud, which was usually when she called a wrap for the day, Akun said, "I'm hungry."_ _

__Lord Mael looked up and said, "I suppose it is that time. Have we done enough, wife?"_ _

__"And then some," she said. "Let's see what's for dinner."_ _

__"Um," said Akun._ _

__"Yes?"_ _

__"You keep saying it's okay to ask, so, er. Do I get to ask for specific foods I like?"_ _

__"Yes, but not every night. We usually just let Bailí and Lette know which foods are our favorites, and they make those sometimes," she explained. "Why? Did you want something?"_ _

__"I don't think I have favorites yet," said Akun, which was reasonable. "Just asking."_ _

__Lord Mael smiled, and said, "With us, then."_ _

__Dinner turned out to be chicken cacciatore, with pasta, and paired with nice white. Akun took a sip, then held out the glass. "Wow. That's . . . "_ _

__"Mm," she said. "The really impressive thing is that it's local."_ _

__"Here?" asked Akun._ _

__She shook her head. "The colony here doesn't have the right soil for grapes, unfortunately. It's a couple of planets away, but still. Within the Barony Seiseaux."_ _

__Akun took another sip, then put the glass down. "Ah. I shouldn't have more than this, though. I did the wine-tasting course, but I don't really have a tolerance. Unless that's the point?"_ _

__Lord Mael shook his head. "Not tonight."_ _

__"So," said Akun, and drank only that one glass and then tea the whole remainder of dinner, even though he ate three pieces of chicken. He was a good conversationalist, and interested in Fire. It was a topic her husband loved, and he'd talk her ear off about it all the time if she let him. Therefore, she didn't. Akun seemed to like it, though, asking intelligent questions even before they got to the one he actually wanted to ask. "You said my name isn't my Name, and you could do, um, things with it if you had it, but you don't."_ _

__"And also I don't want to," said Lord Mael._ _

__"Right, that," said Akun, sopping up some of the sauce with noodles. "But. How do you learn your Name?"_ _

__"If you have any sense, you don't," said Lord Mael._ _

__"Ah? But I thought that it's, you have to know it, to fight ifrit."_ _

__"I have to know it to _bind_ ifrit, yes," said Lord Mael, then relented. "Knowing it is its own set of weaknesses. There are two ways, generally speaking, and neither one of them is really safe. There is a spell, if you can find a fenghuang to donate the feather."_ _

__"Er," said Akun._ _

__"A fenghuang feather," said Lord Mael dryly, "burns ceaselessly and without fuel for one hundred and twenty-one days, as the stories say. What they do _not_ say is that the feather is hot enough to melt most metals, and even if they're not touching it flammable things tend to burst into flame when near one. The only really safe way to work with them is naked, with stone implements, in a completely bare stone room."_ _

__"Or in a desert," she put in. "A volcanic island. A rocky wilderness. Somewhere where there isn't anything to burn. He always gets to irritable about spells that require them, because they're such a pain."_ _

__"I prefer to work with Fire in a _workroom_ , like a civilized person," said Lord Mael, and turned his attention back to Akun. "The other, more dangerous way, is to ask a Seer."_ _

__"That's _more_ dangerous?" asked Akun. "No, wait - because then there's someone else who knows your Name."_ _

__"Exactly," said Lord Mael._ _

__"Which did you use?" asked Akun._ _

__"I almost set my house on fire when I was six years old, playing with salamanders," said Lord Mael dryly, and sipped some wine. "Which do you think? At least with feathers, the danger is only physical."_ _

__"Oh," said Akun, but was looking at her. She blinked at him, slowly. He shook his head, and turned back to her husband. "So then stories like the alabaster lamp . . . ?"_ _

__"I'm sure it would work as a lamp," said Lord Mael. "As long as you didn't mind all of your books eventually bursting into flame."_ _

__"And the fire-cloaks of the sun maidens?"_ _

__She gave him a look. "All stars are suns, and that was probably asbestos. Excavations of tombs from that period regularly turn up asbestos cloaks."_ _

__Akan said, "That's so unsatisfying."_ _

__"I know," she said. "The truth is so much more prosaic than the stories."_ _

__"I suppose it would seem that way," said Lord Mael. "I wish you'd - "_ _

__"No."_ _

__"What?" asked Akun, looking between them in confusion._ _

__Lord Mael sighed. "My lady wife has a connection to Fire. Unlike me, she has chosen to let it remain fallow. Untapped, and untrained. Despite my offers." He sipped his wine again, and then offered Akun a sharp grin. "My many, many offers."_ _

__"Why do you keep asking?"_ _

__"I live in hope," said Lord Mael. "From _this_ side, the reality is not more prosaic. None of the things those stories say is quite correct, but all of them are true, in their way. I'd like to teach it, but she doesn't want to learn."_ _

__"Um," said Akun. "So get an apprentice?"_ _

__"Let me rephrase," said Lord Mael. "I want to play for my wife the wondrous songs of stars, show her the beauty of the moment before the spark catches. And she doesn't want any of it."_ _

__"I'm fine as I am," she said. "Really."_ _

__"Oh," said Akun. "Um."_ _

__"Yes?"_ _

__"She's already a priest," said Akun. "I'm pretty sure she knows."_ _

__Lord Mael stilled._ _

__"Maybe not the same way, but - even a lay priesthood is a big commitment, isn't it? It's not done on a whim, and that was the _compromise_. Er. I thought, anyway. So I believe whatever truth her spark is singing, she can hear it just fine."_ _

__" _Thank_ you, Akun," she said, into the silence._ _

__"I - see," said Lord Mael. "Yes, thank you."_ _

__"That wasn't too much?"_ _

__"No; I didn't understand, and now I - still don't understand, but I have a better idea than before. You did just as you should. Although now I have to wonder what she said about me."_ _

__Akun looked, judged, and solemnly said, "I can't say. It was told to me in confidence."_ _

__Lord Mael looked at him a moment longer, and then chuckled. "That's also not too much, but it is about as far as you should push. Although you're right, that was a heavy conversation and I needed the laugh._ _

__"Yes, my lord," said Akun, smiling brightly._ _

__They finished the meal with dried fruits before heading up to their suite. Along the way, Akun asked, "So I'm sleeping with you every night?"_ _

__Her husband spared her having to answer. "With me, yes. When Lady Mael doesn't feel like sleeping with me she just moves to the couch. Although we're heading into autumn, so that probably won't happen much for the next while."_ _

__"What?"_ _

__"He puts out a lot of heat," she explained. "And in summer, I don't always want to be next to a furnace."_ _

__"Oh."_ _

__"We'll get you a gel blanket if that's a problem," said Lord Mael._ _

__"Is that because of being a Master of Fire, or . . . ?" asked Akun._ _

__"I don't know," said Lord Mael. "I typically read at thirty-seven point five on a thermometer, which is the high end but still normal. I don't constantly run a fever."_ _

__"I think it does, then. You run as hot as possible without, um."_ _

__"Doing myself any physical damage?" said Lord Mael. "Well, it's a theory. I can't think of any reason to go around asking other Masters what their normal body temperature is, though."_ _

__Akun shrugged. "Just curious. I wasn't allowed to ask questions."_ _

__"That," said Lord Mael, "is a travesty. The Master said, 'The time to learn is always now.'"_ _

__"That's not how the Mittan saw it," said Akun simply. While Lord Mael opened the door, "Does that mean I can ask about this, erm. Branding you are doing to me tomorrow?"_ _

__"More than ask," said Lord Mael, removing his outer robe and hanging it on the hook. "I will explain it to you, since there is a little preparation required on your part. Not much! But it has to be done after a fast - "_ _

__"We just ate dinner!"_ _

__"A fast," said Lord Mael, unimpressed by the outburst, "is merely eight hours without eating. A great fast is the whole day, from one sunrise to the next. You can drink as much water as you like. We'll do it first thing in the morning, so all you have to do is refrain from eating after midnight." Which wouldn't be hard, since they'd be asleep. "In the morning we'll both take showers - separately - and then you go do dawn devotions like you planned. Assuming it's real spirituality, and I know it is, that can count as the meditation on your part._ _

__"Then you get undressed and go sit in a copper circle for a few minutes. You have to be, er, receptive. Open. That's the point of the meditation, really. I make some fireworks; they look impressive, but the fire won't actually get anywhere near you. My spark, you may or may not be able to feel. Some can. Then I pull back and let it go, and if we've done it right, it sticks to you."_ _

__"If we haven't?" asked Akun._ _

__"Then we have to try again. If it fails enough times I'll give up on the meditation and we can move on to the less pleasant ways of doing it. The trouble is getting you to open up, and if you can't do it on your own then you can't. But it works better if I don't have to force it."_ _

__Akun looked over to her. She shrugged. "I trust my husband."_ _

__"To do what?" asked Akun._ _

__There was a moment for that to impact and then Lord Mael breathed out a gasp of laughter. "Oh, you just don't stop, do you?"_ _

__"I thought it was a reasonable question," said Akun._ _

__"It is," she said. "How about this, then: there is a difference between hurt and harm. You can trust us, both of us, never to harm you."_ _

__"Not on purpose," said Lord Mael. "We might still by accident, and especially if you are not honest. But we won't try to, and once we know something is harming you, we'll stop."_ _

__"I'll stop," she corrected. " _He_ will go out and find whatever it is, and rip it to pieces."_ _

__Akun smiled shyly. "Okay. That's - good. I believe that." The he glanced at their two couches opposite the low table, and said, "Where do you want me?"_ _

__"This is usually time reserved for leisure," said Lord Mael. "Lady Mael likes to read; I tend to work on my personal projects. Sometimes we play a game of weiqi, or watch a team competition."_ _

__"Watch?" asked Akun. "There's a hologram projector?"_ _

__"There is," said Lord Mael._ _

__"Do you get, um. I prefer to watch theatricals."_ _

__"Oh?"_ _

__"With ridiculous stunts. I like the pyrotechnics."_ _

__Lord Mael laughed. "Fair enough. Let's see if we can find one."_ _

__It took twenty minutes for even the best holograms to warm up, so in the meantime Akun suggested a game of five-in-a-row. He lost at it, but not because he was bad; Lord Mael was just better. Then they found a theatrical with very little plot but a lot of improbable stunts and Lord Mael pulled Akun against him to watch. Watch, in Akun's case, meaning heckle. It took almost half an hour for Lord Mael to get over this new and unfamiliar method of watching theatricals, and then begin joining in. In short order, he was complimenting the effects and criticising how Fire didn't _do_ that right along with Akun's protests that hydraulics wouldn't _work_ that way. She hid her smile behind a cup of her herbal tea._ _

__In due time the theatrical wound down. The loyal imperial Master of Fire was promoted, the falsely accused restored to his proper position and engaged to his love interest. Once the credits began to scrawl, she said, "Well. That was a fine bit of fluff, but I think it's time for bed."_ _

__"Agreed," said Lord Mael._ _

__"Let me brush my teeth," said Akun around a yawn._ _

__They settled into bed. Lord Mael motioned for Akun to sleep between them, and then proceeded to toss and turn. After about half an hour she said, "Oh, just get in the middle." He did, which allowed Lord Mael to stop being too cold and Akun to stop being too hot and then, finally, they slept._ _

**Author's Note:**

> As always, if you see spelling or grammar issues, let me know.


End file.
